Wheat farmers in Rwanda will soon benefit from both wheat output and its residues which will be transformed into building materials like construction bricks and other products once a new factory at the Special Economic Zone begins operations.

Speaking to Rwandan Newspaper the New Times on Friday, Tony Nsanganira, State Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture and Animal Resources said there were many initiatives to increase wheat production such as land consolidation and use of hybrid seeds and fertilizers.

“We are cooperating with a German company, “Strawtec” to buy farmers’ wheat stems and produce building blocks from them.

“Farmers are negotiating prices and the factory activities will begin once farmers harvest and supply the materials during this season A,” Nsanganira said.

Working with wheat cooperatives

He added that the ministry was working with wheat cooperatives to help them get markets for their produce and at better prices, the paper reported.

The minister said most farmers face challenges during the dry season but said government had launched an irrigation subsidy scheme to increase wheat output and other crops by reducing dependency on seasonal rains. Farmers welcomed the new processing initiative.

“We have been growing wheat for several years. We would leave some stems as manure and others to thatch our cowsheds but most were unexploited since we did not know they could be turned into building blocks and earn us extra income. This is an amazing important project,” said Frodouard Munyemanzi from Copakopi wheat cooperative in Gataraga Sector, Musanze District.

Farmers say they have started negotiations with the new factory where one kilogramme of wheat stems will be sold at Rwf27 Rwandan Francs (approximately 45 cents) but could later be increased.

It is estimated that 1.5 tonnes of wheat stems can be produced per hectare, according to cooperative members.

Currently, Rwanda has 55 000 hectares of wheat, scattered in 11 districts across the country with only two major processing plants (Azam and Pembe).It is in third position as far as the East African region is concerned, behind Kenya and Tanzania, respectively.

Over 80 per cent of the wheat consumed is imported, costing the country about $13 million annually.

– The New Times